Marvel Asked Adam McKay To Direct 'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3'
Marvel still hasn't found a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director to take over for James Gunn, but they've approached a few people. One of those people was Adam McKay, director of Anchorman and the upcoming Vice. McKay has some Marvel experience – he worked on the script for Ant-Man, and has now confirmed he was up to direct Inhumans before it became a TV series. But it doesn't seem like he'll be taking over the Guardians franchise anytime soon.
As I'm sure you know by now, James Gunn was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 right before pre-production was set to begin, due to several of his old, highly offensive tweets coming to light. While many urged Disney to give Gunn a second chance, the studio stuck by their decision. As a result, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is on hold indefinitely as Marvel and Disney attempt to find a new director. Who will it be? There's no shortage of suggestions – Thor: Ragnarok helmer Taika Waititi seems to be a fan-favorite – but we now know at least one filmmaker who was directly approached about the gig. That filmmaker is Adam McKay, who directed Anchorman, The Big Short, and this year's Dick Cheney biopic Vice.
Appearing on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast (via Geek Tyrant), McKay revealed Marvel big cheese Kevin Feige approached him about directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. McKay also said that back when Inhumans was still being planned as a film, he was asked to direct that as well:
"We've talked a little bit. Yeah. We were kicking around the idea of the Inhumans at one point. We're always kind of talking. I think Feige is just the greatest and what they're doing is amazing."
Inhumans was eventually turned into a TV show (one I bet you already forgot about!), and as far as we know, McKay is not going to direct Guardians Vol. 3. But he was definitely being considered for the job at one point. While McKay has started making more serious films, he has a background in comedy, so he might have been a good fit for Guardians. At the same time, his style is drastically different than Gunn's, and that style might clash with the already established world of Guardians of the Galaxy.
As of now, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 remains in limbo. Marvel will find a director sooner or later, of course, and it'll be back on track. If they're looking for suggestions, I have one: James Gunn. He might be available.